my hair had a party last night

My hair had a party last night,
It musta got into a terrible fight,
Cause when my head hit the pillow it was lookin' alright,
My hair had a party last night.
My hair had a party last night,
When I lay down everything was all right,
It started out friendly but there must have been a fight,
My hair had a party last night.


















Trout Fishing in America sings these great lyrics that I sing to Barrett almost every morning. I love bedhead on my boys. Before I had kids I used to look at kids with bedhead and think judgmental thoughts about their parents. No more. It’s a sign that the child and therefore, most likely the mom and dad got a good night’s sleep. I also am personally aware that “bed” head can happen in the car on the way somewhere and I never seem to have a brush or comb. Plus, they are kids. They are supposed to be disheveled from having as much fun as possible without a care about societal pressures or improprieties.
That said, Barrett will be getting his hair cut next week…just a little bit off…I would want anyone to think he’s conforming to societal pressure.
BTW, I guess I should address the chip in his tooth since it is plainly evident in this photo. I talked to a dentist the other night. He (and Cody) are of the opinion that it only makes him look cool. They think it's futile to get it fixed. I guess given what I have just said above about bedhead being proof that a kid has been doing their job of having fun, I should agree and embrace it as part of Barrett. I'll have to work on that. Right now, I am still mourning the loss of the almost 1/4 of his tooth.

Working on Buddha Bellies

BUDDHA:
We went to church and Sunday School today. I discovered something I already knew—now I know why. I am not a Buddhist. I have much respect for Buddhists and I believe many aspects of the religion are good. The highest goal of Buddhism is to eliminate suffering in your life by not allowing yourself to feel connected to anything or anyone. While I agree that we do often have too much attachment to objects, I think to completely give up on relationships in order to spare yourself suffering is a mistake. To quote one of my favorite movies, Steel Magnolias, “I’d rather have 30 minutes of somethin’ wonderful than a lifetime of nothin’ special.” Julia Roberts’ character was telling her mama that she wanted to have a baby even if there was a chance it would kill her. I’m with her! I would rather have 30 minutes or 30 years with someone I love than a lifetime alone. The suffering and pain we feel when we lose someone we love will not last forever, there will always be a place in our hearts for them but the pain will make us stronger and more compassionate people. I could go on but I’ll get off my soap box now…

BELLIES:
After church, we went to Fuddruckers. Let me just say that we’ll be starting a grocery fund for when the boys are teenagers. We ordered them a burger to share (not a kids’ burger—a real burger). They ate that before Cody got his toppings on his burger, so he gave them HIS burger. They ate that. So we ordered them another burger—a bigger one! They ate that. I think they let Cody have a bite or two. In case you forgot to count, that was 3 hamburgers! These are toddlers and they are already eating us out of house and home. Well, I am glad Kyle is eating now!

Barrett made breakfast!

I had gone upstairs to get Kyle up for the morning leaving Barrett downstairs playing with his cars. When Kyle and I returned, Barrett was telling me he made Kyle breakfast. I looked at Kyle's highchair and neatly placed on it were a fork, a sippy cup, and a bowl full of toys. So sweet! (Kyle wasn't too impressed at first.)

Mommy of the Year

I don’t know why, but recently, a few of my friends have made comments of admiration towards me as a mother of two. So since I am obviously so good at this I thought I would share some of my secrets of great motherhood with my dedicated readers and friends!

1. When Barrett is throwing a tantrum, I carry him like a football to the naughty corner. This is because he won’t mind me when I tell him to go there, and this way his kicking and hitting is facing away from me. It’s all about self preservation.
2. I have been known to totally forget about the dog. I once closed her in Barrett’s room for the night (she always sleeps in our room) and I didn’t even notice until I got him up the next morning.
3. Under my jeans, my legs haven’t been shaved for weeks. I wonder if Locks of Love takes leg hair…
4. I sometimes wear the same outfit 2 days in a row so I don’t have to think about what I am going to wear and if it’s clean.
5. After having kids, I have discovered it takes 3 days without washing my hair for it to begin to look greasy. Taking a body-only shower or bath saves precious blow-drying time.
6. I have taken my kids to “work” (which is Panera where I can get high speed internet) and made them sit in high chairs for 3 hours while I tried to work. Snacks and toys were provided and repeatedly thrown from the table.
7. In order to have nap time to do the things I need to do, I don’t want the kids to sleep in the car. I sometimes will wake Kyle up in the car so he’ll sleep at home. It’s like poking a hornets’ nest, because it really ticks him off.
8. Before I wipe down the high chair and floor after meals, I call in the dog to clean up (lick off) the big stuff.
9. There was the Spoiled Milk Incident of 2007 that is still being talked about today in the Starr family. Cody had loaded the car for a get-together with his family. When we got there, I got the kids out. During dinner, an 18 month old cousin had taken a sip of Barrett’s cup and his face went twisted like an old man with out his dentures. The milk was sour because it was a cup that had been in the car for a couple days. I had failed to clean out my car between trips and that day’s cup got mixed up with the OLD cup. Mommy of the year! Thank you very much!

hair

Give me a head of hair, long beautiful hair. Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen. Give me it down to there. Hair! Shoulder length or longer. Hair! Here baby, there mama, everywhere now daddy, daddy. Hair! Hair! Grow it, show it, as long as I can grow it…

If you haven’t figured it out, that is from the musical HAIR! I think the best part about writing that is the fact that I had to ask my strapping husband to tell me the lyrics! I did write that for a reason, though. I have decided to grow out and donate my hair to Locks of Love.

I have done some research and have chosen Locks of Love because it fits for me. Although the 10” requirement will be a challenge, (some others take 8” lengths), I wanted to be a part of helping kids who can’t grow hair because of burn, or disease or Chemo. It’s tough enough being a kid with hair as I recall. Hair is so important (just ask Meredith). It shapes how we feel about ourselves. It’s one of the first things people see when they look at us. I know it’s the first thing I look at when I look in the mirror. I can’t imaging being a kid without it! I hope I don’t become an adult without it.

www.locksoflove.org has all the info. I would love to have partners in donation! I think my ponytail is about 5-6 inches long to the point where I am willing to cut it. I don’t want to have to get a Demi Moore-in-Ghost-haircut afterward. I plan to take pre-natal vitamins--those puppies made my hair and nails grow super fast when I was pregnant! Sorry I am not going to post a pic of me/my hair right now...ugh. If you wanna do it too, let me know and we can have a cutting ceremony!

going out

I love food. I have dreams about food. I love going out to eat. We never go out to eat at fancy expensive restaurants. We can’t afford it and my husband has this weird hang up about being able to put his entire dinner in his mouth all at once—go figure! We usually end up going to the same old favorite place and have our same favorite tacos. Maybe someday we’ll have the money to eat at all the fancy places, but for now I am enjoying eating dinner out wherever it may be.
I love going out on date night (babysitter) because someone else is doing the cooking and cleaning and I get to eat my food while it is still hot. At home I usually end up cutting seconds for the boys just about the time I am ready to dig in. I also love that there is actual conversation. The last time Cody and I went out, we sat in our booth for 4 hours. There were tears, there was laughter, there was apple pie! Obviously we had not had a chance to have a decent conversation in a while. And at the end of the meal, no one felt it necessary to wear his bowl as a hat (Mr. Kyle)!

I came home and kissed my sleeping boys and thanked God for giving them to me. I know that while we can’t always afford a fancy meal out or the items on the very long list of things, I have everything I need. And someday when we have lots of money, and we can eat at those fancy restaurants, we’ll probably still be eating at our same favorite joint eating the same old tacos because we like ‘em!

Good Morning Elmo!

We like to give Barrett lots of choices, especially at bedtime, because we find it makes the process go more smoothly. However, for a few nights, when asked which pajamas he wanted to wear, he kept picking out the Elmo swimsuit that had mistakenly been put in the PJ drawer. I had to draw the line. It was too cold to wear a swimsuit to bed. He needed long pants, even footed pajamas! Then, I thought I should let him wear the swimsuit (even though it’s Elmo—don’t get me started) OVER the PJ’s. He was so happy! I don’t know if it was about self-expression, or getting to make a choice, but the happiness was still exploding on his face the next morning. So I say, let your quirky little light shine kiddo…as long as it’s at night in your bed where no one can see you! ;)














































He's been wearing the swimsuit to bed ever since!